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Read-Along Book-And-Record
Read-along book-and-record sets are a series of illustrated books with accompanying recordings of the books being read. Format Read-along book-and-record sets are a form of educational entertainment for very young children, consisting of a 24-page picture storybook in comic book format with drawings or photos and an accompanying recording in the form of a vinyl record to be played while following along with the book. The record is presented in a radio theater-style version of the story with high-quality musical backgrounds with authentic sound effects, bright and happy songs to sing, and character voices, and the book provides visuals of colorful illustrations that feature the characters and text to the story word-for-word in large and easy-to-read type. Cartoon characters, comic book superheroes, and other media franchises, ranging from everything from Bozo the Clown to the classical music fantasy Sparky's Magic Piano, are common subjects of the stories. The stories may either be presented by a narrator as the audio is taken directly from the movie with narration added, from the viewpoint of a main character from the story in first-person and features extracts of dialogue and original songs taken directly from the film soundtrack and included in the production, and members of the movie cast who often come in specially to reprise their roles on record, and new musical numbers and a new script that are written especially for the record and recorded fresh with a new cast of performers. The Walt Disney Studios' books are typically adaptations mostly based on or around their popular family movies, children's cartoons, theme park attractions, and original stories featuring their characters. They also produce other stories based on non-Disney properties that do not involve any of their characters such as the Star Wars films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Garfield, The Get-Along Gang, Rainbow Brite, Voltron, ALF, Gumby, Mercer Mayer's Little Critter stories, titles adapted from the animated specials featuring the Peanuts characters, Sega video games, The Land Before Time franchise, generic fairy tales such as Mother Goose Rhymes, Goldilocks And The Three Bears, Hansel And Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Gingerbread Man. Of interest to fans of L. Frank Baum's Oz book series, they also released four Oz-themed "story and songs" storyteller record albums featuring Oz stories with songs and record cases that open into original picture storybooks with illustrations for the stories. Three of them featured stories that were based on Baum's Oz books: a retelling the first Oz book, "The Wizard Of Oz", adaptations of volumes, "The Scarecrow Of Oz" and "The Tin Woodman Of Oz", but "The Cowardly Lion Of Oz" was an original tale with songs and is not an adaptation of the Ruth Plumly Thompson story of the same name. List of titles The Story And Songs Of The Wizard Of Oz - This is a 45-minute 12-inch full-length long-playing radio theater-style storyteller vinyl record adaptation of the familiar classic story of Dorothy Gale's adventure of how she and her dog Toto were taken from Kansas to the land of Oz by a cyclone. It is especially prepared for very young children, since it is a unique combination of a composite of the original novel and the 1939 MGM musical film, which contains covers of songs from it. The story is narrated by Robie Lester as an adult Dorothy and includes the songs: "Somewhere, Over The Rainbow", "Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch Is Dead!", "If I Only Had A Brain", "Follow The Yellow Brick Road", "We're Off To See The Wizard", and "The Merry Old Land Of Oz". The record's case opens up into a giant-sized 11-page read-along picture storybook that contains magnificent full-color drawings illustrated by the Walt Disney studio's staff artists, where many characters have original designs, but some of the more classic characters are based on their classic designs. The read-along book and cassette tape edition was a very basic, simple, and much more abbreviated adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz that featured the character voices imitating the MGM film actors, and is narrated by Hal Smith. The Story And Songs Of The Scarecrow Of Oz - This adaptation of The Scarecrow Of Oz follows the book pretty faithfully, but begins several chapters into Baum's original book, since it starts with the scarecrow visiting Glinda's palace and going to Jinxland, where he meets Trot and Pon. It is narrated by Ray Bolger as the scarecrow and includes the songs: "Happy Glow" and "Somewhere, Over The Rainbow". Ray Bolger appeared only on this record, and one can almost imagine this as a side piece to his other Oz readings for Caedmon Audio. The Story And Songs Of The Tin Woodman Of Oz - This loosely based adaptation of The Tin Woodman Of Oz follows Baum's book rather faithfully with the addition of the cowardly lion and the looking for the true love plot for the other characters, which waters the story down, because one theme in that book was that sometimes the conventional fairy tale ending isn't the happiest. This is not carried over here, since the ending of this story slightly differs from the original novel because it was re-written to have all the main characters get married. It is narrated by Sam Edwards as the tin woodman and includes the songs: "I Dream Of True Love", "I'm Mrs. Yoop The Yookoohoo", and "I've Found My True Love". The Story And Songs Of The Cowardly Lion Of Oz - This version of The Cowardly Lion Of Oz is an entirely all-new completely original story and not based on the book's story of the same name by Ruth Plumly Thompson, since it takes little material from and bears no resemblance to it, however the claims of the album notes say that it is an adaptation, despite that it is not. The Cowardly Lion Of Oz includes six original songs that were not written especially for this record, but were originally intended for the abandoned movie called "The Rainbow Road To Oz" that was to bring the Mousketeers from TV to film. It is narrated by Sam Edwards as the cowardly lion and includes the songs: "Living A Lovely Life", "Trouble In Oz", "The Ozphabet", "Just Call Smarmy", "The Puppet Polka", and "If You'll Just Believe." This album is the final story in a little series of an adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz and stories about each of Dorothy's first original three friends on the yellow brick road in Oz: the scarecrow, the tin woodman, and the cowardly lion. Return To Oz - This is a 13-minute 7-inch full-length long-playing storyteller record adaptation of Disney's 1985 film of the same name, which retells an actually decent good and nice short adaptation of the story of the film in a radio theater-style format, but with subtle changes, since it loses some vital key details with some minor bad guys and gives Tik-Tok slightly more of a role. It is narrated by William Woodson, and contains none of the audio from the film, but instead uses new voice actors, who are a small cast of British-sounding sound-alikes, to record dialogue. One of the cast members is a little girl named Dana Howerton, who sounds a bit like Fairuza Balk, performing the role of Dorothy. The record also comes packaged with a 24-page read-along picture storybook and the pages are condensed versions that contain full-color rare photos from the original motion picture, instead of creating new illustrated paintings like the many other previous books that told the film's story. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Narrated by Hal Smith and includes the song "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" Frosty The Snowman - Narrated by Hal Smith and includes the song "Frosty The Snowman" Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - Narrated by Charles Fleischer as Roger Rabbit. Introduction: "This is the story, the yarn, the tale of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. P-P-P-Please read along with me in your book. You'll know it's time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this. Let's begin now." Ending: "Well, that's it, the end, kaput. If you would like to hear the story again, just turn the tape over. Okay? See you later. Brbrbrbrbrbr." Aladdin - Narrated by Jim Cummings as the peddler and includes the song "Friend Like Me". Introduction: "Ah, greetings, friends! I am here to tell you a story I first heard in the streets of an enchanted city called Agrabah. It is the story of Aladdin. You can read the tale along with me in your book. It was first told to me by a strange little man who was trying to sell me a lamp. As he started his tale, he threw a magic dust into the air and it made this sound. Now, every time you hear the magic dust sound, it will be a signal that it is time to turn the page. Let us begin the story now." Ending: "Well, my friends, that is the end of the story. And you can be sure that everyone, except Jafar and Iago, lived very happily ever after. In fact, it is said that Aladdin's Genie still roams free to this very day, but no one knows for sure. If you would like to hear the story again, all you need to do is turn the tape over. All is the same on the other side. Until we meet again, farewell." Aladdin: Adventures In The Cave Of Wonders - Narrated by Jim Cummings as the peddler and includes the song "Arabian Nights". Introduction: "Ah.... salaam and good day to you, worthy friend. Welcome to Agrabah, city of mystery and enchantment! Would you like to hear a tale of wonder and magic? Then read the story along with me in your book. Every time you hear this sound: it will be a signal that it is time to turn the page. Let us begin the story now." Ending: "That was the end of the tale. If you would like to hear it again, all you need to do is turn the tape over. All is the same on the other side. Until we meet again, farewell." Aladdin: Iago Returns - Narrated by Corey Burton as the peddler and includes the song "A Whole New World". Introduction: "Aaahh.... Welcome back to Agrabah, my worthy friend. Much as happened since we last visited. Iago has managed to escape from the lamp, leaving the evil Jafar inside, and has returned to the palace. But don't worry----all is well. In fact, at this very moment, Aladdin is with the Royal Chief of Etiquette. Shall we drop in on them? Every time you hear this sound: it will be a signal that it is time to turn the page. Let us begin." Ending: "And that was the end of the story. I hope you liked it. If you would like to hear it again, turn the tape over. That's all!" The Lion King - Narrated by Robert Guillaume as Rafiki and includes the song: "I Just Can't Wait To Be King". Introduction: "Welcome to the Pride Lands, home to some of the most glorious animals of Africa. I am Rafiki, and I am here to tell you the story of one special lion who lives here----a lion who holds a very dear place in my heart. You can read along with me in your book. Every time you hear this sound, you will know it is time to turn the page. Let us begin now." Ending: "And that, my dear listeners, is the end of my story. If you would like to hear it again, just turn the tape over. It is exactly the same on the other side. Bye for now." The Lion King: Far From The Pride Lands - Narrated by Roy Dotrice and includes the song "Hakuna Matata." Introduction: "This is the story about Simba, the future King of the African Pride Lands. As a young lion, Simba had many adventures----some dangerous and some fun. This adventure follows him as he runs away from home, meets some new friends, and learns to face his past. You can read along with me in your book. Every time you hear this sound, you'll know it's time to turn the page. Let's begin now." Ending: "If you would like to hear the adventure of Simba one more time, turn the tape over. The story begins again on the other side." The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride - Narrated by Miguel Ferrer. Introduction: "This is the story called Simba's Pride. It is about what happened to Simba the Lion King and his friends. You can read along with me in your book, and every time you hear this sound, turn the page. Now, let us go to the Pride Lands of Africa and begin." 101 Dalmatians - Narrated by Russi Taylor as Nanny The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - Narrated by David Ogden Stiers as the Archdeacon Mary Poppins - Narrated by Karen Dotrice as Adult Jane Banks Hercules - Narrated by Danny DeVito as Philoctetes A Bug's Life - Narrated by Hayden Panettiere as Dot Mulan - Narrated by June Foray as Grandmother Fa The Lion King 1 1/2 - Narrated by Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa Specialized introductions "Hi. I'm Charlie Brown. You can read along in your book as you listen to the story. You'll know it's time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this. And now we present title." "This is the Sega Little Golden Book and Tape called title here. It was written by author here. And the pictures were done by illustrator here. You can read along with me in your book. You will know it is time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this. Let's begin now." "The story goes way back millions and millions of years ago. When Littlefoot and his friends can make their own journey on the planet. Introduction: "To hear the story of The Land Before Time title here, you can read along with me in your book. You will know it is time to turn the page, when you hear the chimes ring like this. Let's begin now." Ending: "And that was the end of Littlefoot's journey. If you would like to hear it again, just put the compact disc right to the start." And we hear Ducky's voice say "Yep, yep, yep. Goodbye."